12 Ridiculously Beautiful Ocean Poems to Read
Ocean poetry can take various forms. From a straightforward seaside meditation to an examination of our own lives. Here is a collection of some of the best sea-themed poems ever written.
The ocean is largely mysterious. On the ocean’s surface, we ride in boats and relax on beaches to watch the waves crash against the shore.
There are billions of species hidden in the ocean that interact in ways that we will never fully comprehend.
Ocean poetry can be used as a metaphor for trauma, love, and many other things, in addition to portraying the essence of the sea.
This poetry collection is for you if you’re looking for the best collection of ocean poems.
1. By the Sea
I started early, took my dog,
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me.
And frigates on the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew,
Upon a dandelion’s sleeve –
And then I started too.
And he–he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, – then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.
Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.
by Emily Dickinson
2. Sea of Strangers by Lang Leav
3. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
4. How Tuneful is the Voice of Sea
How tuneful is the voice of the sea,
What true accord in ocean’s murmur,
And in the reed’s light, rhythmic tremor
What tender musicality!
In nature, all is harmony,
A consonance fore’er agreed on,
And ’tis alone our phantom freedom
That is disturbingly off-key.
Whence comes this breach? How to explain
Why with the sea its song sonorous
The soul declines to sing in chorus?
Why does the thinking reed complain?
by Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev
5. Secrets of the Sea by Mohamed Hassan
6. The Ocean
Excerpt:
The Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet, and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
7. The Sea is History
Excerpt:
Where are your monuments, your battles, martyrs?
Where is your tribal memory? Sirs,
in that gray vault. The sea. The sea
has locked them up. The sea is History.
by Derek Walcott
8. Oral Traditions by William Nu’utupu Giles and Travis T.
9. Sail Away
Excerpt:
Early in the day, it was whispered that we should sail in a boat,
Only thou and I, and never a soul in the world, would know of this our
Pilgrimage to no country and to no end.
by Rabindranath Tagore
10. Waters by Brave New Voices
11. Winter is the King of Showmen
Turning tree stumps into snowmen
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite.
That’s the season to be young,
Catching snowflakes on your tongue!
Snow is snowy when it’s snowing.
I’m sorry it’s slushy when it’s going.
by Ogden Nash
12. Dover Beach
The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
by Matthew Arnold
The ocean is a calm, serene and beautiful work of nature that can evoke tranquility. We hope you found these poems exciting.
Let us know your favorite piece in the comment section. If you found these ocean poems interesting, you can check out more poems about nature.